Financial Aid Policies and Procedures

While it’s great that the federal government, the state of Tennessee, private donors
and others are willing to help you finance your education, it is very important that
you understand that there are a variety of conditions attached to the aid you receive.

Perhaps the single most important item for you to know is this: in most cases, you
are awarded grants, loans, scholarships and other forms of financial assistance for
the purpose of completing classes taken toward earning a degree. This means that most
forms of financial assistance you receive from the federal government (for example,
Federal Pell Grants, Federal undergraduate / graduate student loans), from the State
of Tennessee (for example, the TELS scholarship program) or from private or university
benefactors carry substantial penalties if you enroll in courses but don’t finish
those courses.

Remember this: financial aid is awarded to students so that they may complete courses,
not so that they may attempt courses. This is an important and significant distinction. Should you enroll in courses but fail to successfully complete the course, you could
become personally financially responsible for the costs of your tuition and fees,
plus be required to pay back the loans, grants or scholarships that you received.
You should never withdraw from any course or stop attending any course without first
consulting with the MT One Stop and your academic advisor.

We know that these rules can seem complicated, so the following highlights are intended
to help you understand the basic requirements of accepting financial aid. Please be
sure to review the MTSU Financial Aid Terms and Conditions which you must agree to on PipelineMT as a precondition to accepting any financial
aid offer. You will also want to make yourself familiar with the terms and conditions
of any loan, grant or scholarship that you choose to accept. Hotlinks are also provided
in the descriptions that follow to help you connect to the full policies that are
applicable.

Official and Unofficial Withdrawals

Students who drop classes on or before the census date (the 14th calendar day of fall / spring semesters) may have their aid adjusted. In addition,
faculty at MTSU are encouraged to report student attendance by the census date, and
may additionally report attendance beyond that date. If a student is reported as ‘Stopped
Attending’ or ‘Never attended’ all enrolled courses within a semester, the student
is considered to be “unofficially” withdrawn from the university. Withdrawals may have serious impact on the student’s
financial aid status.

Students who receive the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal TEACH Grant, Federal
Perkins Loan, or Federal Direct Loans must complete at least 60% of the semester to
earn 100% of their aid. If you are officially or unofficially withdrawn before completing
60% of the term, then MTSU must perform a Federal Return of Title IV Funds Calculation.
The Return Calculation is based on the premise that students “earn” federal financial
aid for each calendar day that they attend classes. This means that the University
may be required to return all or part of your aid to the federal government if you
withdraw before completing your classes. You will also still be responsible for paying
any applicable tuition and fees for the courses you attempted but did not complete. Anytime a Return Calculation is performed, the student is likely to owe a balance
to the University.It is very important that you attend your courses! To review the Return Calculation Policy and examples, click here.

In addition, if you officially or unofficially drop below half-time status, MTSU will
notify your loan servicer that you are no longer enrolled at least half-time. Your
six month grace period for loan repayment will begin on the date of dropping below
half-time status. You will be sent an email from MTSU requesting that you complete
Loan Exit Counseling and make preparations to begin repayment of your loan.

Finally, withdrawing from all your classes has a negative impact on your eligibility
to receive financial aid in the future. The federal government requires that every student must maintain a certain standard
of Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress. In short, this means that a student is required to pass 67% of all attempted hours
in order to remain eligible to receive financial aid. When a student drops courses
after the census date, it results in their pass rate dropping.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirement

Federal regulations require that we establish and apply reasonable standards of satisfactory
academic progress (SAP) for the purpose of awarding financial assistance under the
Title IV programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended (34 CFR
668.34). MTSU complies with this requirement by monitoring each student's “overall
combined” cumulative grade point average (GPA), “overall combined” pass-rate (percentage
of credit hours passed divided by credit hours attempted), and “overall” maximum time
frame for completion of the student’s program of study.

This policy is applicable to Federal Title IV Programs, State Programs inclusive of
the Tennessee Student Assistance Award, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship,
and various MTSU Scholarship Programs.

In general, students should be aware that they must pass 67% of all attempted courses
in order to remain eligible to receive financial aid. To determine your financial
aid status, divide your “overall combined” earned hours by your “overall combined”
attempted hours. When a student drops courses after the census date, it will lower
the pass rate.

If your pass rate drops below 67%, you may be granted warning status for one semester.
Students are allowed to receive financial aid while on Financial Aid Warning. However,
by the end of the Warning semester, the student must have reached the overall combined
67% pass rate to remain eligible for financial aid. If not, the student will be placed
on Financial Aid Suspension.

Student who are placed on Financial Aid Suspension are not eligible to receive aid
until they enroll in and complete, at their own expense, sufficient hours to raise
their pass rate above the required 67% overall combined pass rate. There are limited
options for appealing the status of financial aid suspension.

Drug convictions

Students convicted of a federal or state offense of selling or possessing illegal
drugs may not be eligible for federal student aid (grants, loans, and work-study).
Students who answer "Yes" to question 23 on the FAFSA will be required to answer additional
questions on the FAFSA to determine if the conviction affects eligibility for aid.
Also, if the Financial Aid Office is notified that a student has been convicted of
possession or sale of illegal drugs during the academic year, all federal student
aid will be suspended immediately.

Convictions only count if they were for an offense that occurred during a period of
enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid. Also, a conviction
that was reversed, set aside, or removed from the student's record does not count.

The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for federal student aid funds,
depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student
had previous offenses. (A conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring
to sell drugs.)

Possession of illegal drugs

Sale of illegal drugs

1st offense

1 year from date of conviction

2 years from date of conviction

2nd offense

2 years from date of conviction

Indefinite period

3+ offenses

Indefinite period

Indefinite period

Students regain eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends or when
they successfully complete a qualified drug rehabilitation program. Further drug convictions
will make the student ineligible again. Students denied eligibility for an indefinite
period can regain it only after successfully completing a rehabilitation program or
if a conviction is reversed, set aside, or removed for the student's record so that
fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on
the record. In such cases, the nature and dates of the remaining convictions will
determine when the student regains eligibility.

It is the student's responsibility to certify to the Financial Aid Office the date
of the conviction and if (s)he has completed a drug rehabilitation program.

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